Circle Dance
by rokusan
Summary: Two years after the end of the anime- Kyou, Yuki and Tohru are in the middle of exams, and next they'll be moving to Tokyo! But Kyou has discovered a secret of Yuki's..and it's not the only secret going around! non-yaoi. Mild language.
1. Waltz

See incompetence-pleading disclaimer in bio. 

Circle Dance  
by roku

Chapter One: Waltz 

* 

When he was sixteen, Kyou thought he was in love with Honda Tohru. Tohru happened to be a pretty girl, and a kind girl, and she just happened to live in the same house as Kyou. She had first met Kyou when he was human-shy, moody, mistrusting and ill-tempered. Unlike most people in Kyou's cursed life, she took to him immediately and became his first friend. After the whole eruption with Akito and Kyou's third form, after what she had done for him, he had felt especially indebted to her. 

That night Shigure had proven he was wiser than he behaved, Kyou had had to renew his faith in his shishou. Kagura faded herself away from their lives; Kyou didn't miss her at all. He was busy getting over a small trauma. 

Fastforward two years: Kyou's life is fine now, better than before. He and Yuki still argue, but now with the understanding brothers argue with; Yuki ran after Kyou to save him, after all. How can you truly hate someone after learning that? 

Kyou is eighteen and nearing the end of high school. During the last two years, he discovered several things: 

1) he isn't in love with Tohru. She is very sweet and entertaining, but she hasn't got the spark Kyou is looking for. She doesn't always understand him. Sometimes he says things he thinks are funny and she just stares at him -sometimes he even gets more of a laugh out of Yuki, who seems to actually share a dry, cynical sense of humor with Kyou. So with Tohru Kyou feels out of beat. Much though he loves her, she isn't his mate, his match, his partner and arch nemesis the way a real girlfriend ought to be. It's just as well that he isn't in love with her, because 

2) Yuki is in love with Tohru. Plain and simple, the boy turns into a blithering pubescent the moment she walks in the room. Kyou has noticed this for the past oh, say, eight months, and is to the point where he has to dig his left fang into his lip so as not to laugh out loud at the blushes and stutterings and sudden shy of the usually too-cool-for-you Prince. Kyou can imagine how he feels, as of late, ever since Kyou realized 

3) Kagura is actually very pretty. 

Yes, grand shock and general annoyance. It isn't like he is about to _ever_ fall in love with her. He just noticed it the other day when Shigure was going through the family photo albums and Kyou joined him out of boredom.   
They had looked through pages and pages of photographs, an astonishing amount of them featuring Momiji, in various joyous poses. One of them had Momiji grabbing a surprised Kagura, the picture taken just as she opened her mouth to say something like 'huh?' as Momiji flashed (another) peace-symbol to the camera. By the next photo the next photo had been taken, Kagura seemed to have become aware of the presence of a camera. She was hugging Momiji tightly, a happy smile on her face as she looked at the camera.  
Another picture had Momiji jumping on the back of no one other than Kyou. Shigure had laughed and pointed out Kyou's expression. Even Kyou had admitted it was pretty funny. With Momiji's arms wrapped around Kyou's neck in the photo, Kyou was simultaneously trying to crouch in a late reflex, and trying to arch his back to get Momiji off. His eyes were wide and he looked furious to rampage through Tokyo and cause some serious damage.   
'You're not so bad now, anymore,' Shigure had said when he finally stopped laughing.

So yeah, one could say that  
4)Kyou has been losing his horrible temper. Probably after the whole bracelet-transformation thing that night. 

Not that he and Yuki don't ever fight anymore, and not that he never blows up at Shigure or Arisa anymore, but Kyou is growing more patient.. more stable. Yeah. Heheh. 

Anyhow, Kyou's daily life is improving. He still lives snugly in Shigure's house, together with Yuki and Tohru. Kyou's high school grades are way high- his main competitor, as always, dear cousin Yuki. Nothing Kyou can't deal with. 

In the back of Kyou's mind, there is still Akito lurking, leering at him with unsharp eyes, and telling him to get ready to spend the rest of his life in a cage. But so far Akito has remained silent and distracted. Hatori let them know he was sicker and madder than usual, not giving any orders save the occasional 'feed me' so Kyou needn't worry about anything for the time being. 

But first things first. Kyou has already gotten into a very prestigious Tokyo university. He starts taking International Law there next year, come April, and he can barely wait. He can get a part-time job and move to Tokyo! Each time he imagines getting his own room, with big windows, in a tall building looking over the stretch of other tall buildings, a smile curls onto his lips and stays there. Shigure already promised Kyou financial backing. 

Best thing is, Yuki and Tohru will be there as well. Perhaps the three of them can get an apartment together. Tohru was admitted to an art college. Both Kyou and Yuki were surprised to hear that was what she wanted, but in reflection.. she is a dreamer. She's good with her hands, and she's creative. Art school should fit her just fine. 

And Yuki.. well, holy hell. He'll probably be coming to Toudai along with Kyou. He wants to take Environmental and Suburban Architecture, a combined study course of some kind. Kyou was impressed with his cousin's choice. He doubts Yuki will have any trouble getting past the entrance exams. After all, Kyou didn't have any problems, did he? 

Kyou lets a slightly malicious smirk touch his face as he sits back from the last of his finals. He pushes his pen and paper away from him and closes his eyes in the sunlight streaming in. Life is alright. 

What day is it today? Thursday? A second smirk follows the leader. Tohru's baito-day. Yay. 

* 

Yuki stands there, in front of the high gray building that is owned by Momiji's father. He has been standing there for forty-five minutes already, and he knows Tohru won't be out for another fifteen. Still, there he stands. Lovesick. As bad as those little girls at school who join his fan club to in turn state their undying devotion and hurl themselves at him. 

Yuki rubs his eyes and leans back against the metal fence. This is getting out of hand. Yes, he loves Tohru. Yes, he adored her from the very start. No, it wasn't always a romantic thing. Yes, now it is. 

He constantly wonders when it was the first time he realized his heart was racing and his breath was catching when she simply even talked to him. He wonders when he first started paying attention to her body, to her smile, her hair. He wonders how she feels about him. He always tries very hard to stay cool and kind and on _top_ of things (pardon the innuendo there, adds his brain with a smirk and a blush) but it is difficult, not losing it entirely when in love. 

He flashbacks to one of the first times when he felt- there had been that stupid school fair where she had made all the weird onigiri, and where it had been Kyou's idea to have onigiri death matches, and where he had.. where he.. Yuki groans out loud. Where he had worn the _dress_. 

God, had he hated that thing to kingdom come. He had avoided her eyes all day. He had avoided her in general all day. And mirrors. He had told her he hated being thought of as 'cute', and she had confessed to thinking he was cute too. And he had made her blush, by saying that she was infinitely cuter than he. He remembered that well.. he had been this close to kissing her. He hadn't because he didn't know how, and what the consequences might be. 

He sighs out loud. Now he still doesn't know how, and he still doesn't know what the consequences would be, but he isn't sure he'll withdraw if the opportunity presents itself again. 

'You're so early it disgusts me.' 

Yuki's head jerks up to find Kyou there, glaring at him. 

'What are _you_ doing here?' 

Kyou is silent. When he smirks, one of his fangs glints in the light of the lantern post. 

'Didn't you know I was already going tonight?' Yuki demands. 

'Yeah.' 

'Then why are you here?' 

'I need to talk to you.' 

'Talk? You? Me?' 

'That sounded so intelligent.' 

'Like you would know what intelligent was.' 

'You're in love with her, no?' Kyou prompts suddenly. 

Every bit of expression drops away from Yuki's face to leave utter shock. He opens his mouth to deny it, to acknowledge it, to say anything, but nothing comes out. He stares at Kyou. 

Kyou's eyes are narrowed a little, as if debating whether or not to try and beat Yuki up. 

'Cat got your tongue, Yuki?' Kyou offers softly instead, and climbs onto the fence, perching perfectly, balancing on the balls of his feet. His back curls and he holds that feline grace in his form. 

It makes Yuki wonder if certain motions of his own ever remind others of rodents. 

'I realized it a while ago. You're just too obvious. You know that, right? Shigure's onto you, but in his perspective it's all cute young puppy love, and he's been making comments about that ever since Tohru moved in with us anyways.' 

Yuki nods, staring straight ahead. Kyou pulls out a pack of gum and takes one, then offered the pack to him. Absently Yuki takes a piece of gum and puts it into his mouth. 

'The only reason Tohru hasn't noticed is because she's too busy being in love with you back.' 

'What?' 

'I guessed you wouldn't have noticed that. She is. Scary thing is, she's sort of being an average schoolgirl about it. Getting all nervous and blushy when you're around.' 

'Why are you telling me this?' Yuki asks. He is still having difficulty with the fact that it is Kyou telling him this. 

'We'll get there. As I was saying-' 

'Are you sure she likes me?' Yuki asks suddenly. 

'What do you mean, sure?' 

'Sure, you idiot, like, there's no doubt you could be wrong.' 

'Well, it's not like I went and asked her if she was in love with you too.' 

'Arg. No.' Yuki groans and closes his eyes. 'Good thing you didn't.' 

'But sure, like, I'm sure I have eyes in my head, yes, sure.' Kyou shrugs. 

Yuki makes an exasperated sound, and Kyou laughs. 

'Okay, look. I thought about it for a long time, and I figured I should help you out.' 

Yuki frowns in disbelief. 'Why would you want to help me? I thought you'd be angry if you found out-' 

'I was.' Kyou says, giving Yuki a sidelong look. 'That was about eight months ago. And I started seeing it from Shigure's point of view, too.'   
He waves away Yuki's worried look at that. 'I don't mean that like it sounded. I've been studying you two, actively, and have reached the conclusion..' he pauses and looks at Yuki. 

Yuki's pride is going to hell for this, but losing his pride to his cousin is worth it, if it means making progress on the project that will someday hopefully be his relationship with Tohru. And he's actually gotten to the point where he can trust Kyou enough to rely on him like this. He _has_ to trust Kyou. 

'Conclusion..?' Yuki urges him. 

'I've reached the conclusion that you two are grossing me out. Being all flirty and cutesy together, and hoping and pretending no one else will notice, most of all not the other.' Kyou says, making a face. 

'Meaning..?' 

'Well, obviously, this nonsense has got to stop.' 

'Nonsense?' 

'I've got to hook the two of you up as soon as possible.' 

'But why?' 

'Because I'm bored.' Kyou lets out a short laugh. Then he turns to look at his cousin.   
'I realized you were the one staring at her and wanting to touch her. You respect her, you understand her, you love, let's see.. her voice, her eyes, her smile,' Kyou counts the words out on his fingers like they are items for a grocery list- 'all four freckles on her nose, her every word.. you worship her clumsiness. You want to kiss her and sleep with her.. and maybe even marry her, don't you, Yuki?' 

Yuki feels suddenly naked, buried beneath this new and frightening omniscience of his cousin. 

'And I realized those weren't the kind of feelings that were summoned in me by Tohru. Adoration, yes. Respect, yes. Love, sure. As a friend. The girl's like my little sister.'

They are both silent for a while, Kyou's silence one of waiting, Yuki's silence one of bewilderment. 

'Then perhaps one day I can make you my brother-in-law.' Yuki mumbles. He can feel Kyou's ruddy eyes boring into his face, but all Yuki can do is stare straight ahead and wonder how he could have been so obvious that Kyou of all people is the one to approach him. 

'What are you going to do, Kyou?' Yuki asks softly. 'Are you going to tell her?' 

'Nah.' Kyou replies with a grunt, before slipping off the fence and silently touching the ground. 'I figured I'd give you a hand at getting your act together, you ass.' 

Yuki's thoughts are racing. He can't figure out Kyou's motivation.   
'Why would you care to help me? I assume you want something in return.' 

'Of course.' 

'Should I help you get together with Kagura, then?' 

Kyou snorts. 'Even if I wanted to get together with Kagura..' 

'I guess you wouldn't need my help. The moment you'd tell her she'd be overjoyed, and start to beat the living-' 

'Yeah, I could use you to catch the brunt of the blows, I guess.' 

They both laugh for a moment. 

'So what is it you want?' Yuki asks. 

'I'll get back to you on that sooner or later. Besides the relief from two people keeping 'secrets', which is totally the thing to ruin my day.' 

'Ah.' 

'I know you'll thank me when the time comes, Jerry.' And without difficulty the darkness absorbs Kyou into the woods beside the building. 

'See you around then, Tom.' 

A humming settles in Yuki's brain as his ears hear Kyou move farther and farther away, quiet though he is. 

'Well, that was entirely surreal.' Yuki says out loud. 

'Yuki-kun!' 

'Honda-san!' he exclaims, surprised a second time. 

'I heard something rustling in the bushes..' Tohru comments, trying to peer over his shoulders at the wood. 

'A cat.' Yuki says, feeling himself smile as she stands so close by. 

'A cat!' 

'A Cheshire Cat.' 

'A Cheshire Cat? Don't they help people who are lost find their way?' 

Yuki smiles and holds out his hand. 'How was work?' 

She takes his hand and smiles. 'It was worth it.' 

* 

AN. Here's to a fresh start. I hope I don't dissapoint. Any questions you might have, feel free to ask them and I'll do my best to answer. Cheers to Zelda for kicking me into this fandom. Next chapter should be out soon, but I'm a busy person and things randomly go wrong. I've learned to refrain from making promises. Anyways. Cheers! Roku 


	2. Quickstep

See incompetence-pleading disclaimer in bio. 

Circle Dance  
by roku 

Chapter Two: Quickstep

* 

A month passes since Kyou and Yuki's odd conversation. They haven't had a chance to talk again, and life continues as normal. Tonight is their last night of freedom. Tomorrow it will be exactly three weeks before the final exams begin. Tohru, Yuki and Kyou have decided to start working on the different exams that long in advance. 

'I know Uo-chan and Hana-chan aren't starting until a week ahead of time,' Tohru says when they discuss when to begin, and she is visibly concerned about her friends' lax attitudes. 

Kyou shrugs. 'Uotani can threaten the teachers into giving her good grades and Hanajima can sense the correct answers.' 

Yuki laughs lightly. 'I wouldn't be surprised.' 

Tohru sighs. 'Hana is even worse than I am at schoolwork. And Uo's grades are-' 

'Look, give it up already. No matter how much you worry about them, they're the ones that have to take their exams and you can't help them. Deal with it.' Kyou interrupts her. 

'You don't have to interrupt Honda-san like that, stupid cat.' 

'You don't need to pay attention to every little thing I do, damned mouse!' 

'I can't help but pay attention to every little annoying habit of yours, you idiot, that's what makes you so annoying!' 

'I'm annoying? If you ever had the chance to see how annoying you are, you arrogant, pompous-' 

'So!' Tohru exclaims, interrupting Kyou in turn. 'What times shall we reserve to study together?' 

'Must we study together?' 

'You can study alone if that's what you want, stinkin' rat.' 

'So can you, stupid cat.' 

'I don't want either of you to have to study alone!' Tohru exclaims. 'These finals are hard enough as they are, it'll only make it harder if you're feeling lonely while studying!' 

The boys both stare at her, shamefully feeling them selves going soft at her innocent ways to bring about ceasefires. 

'And besides,' Tohru continues, a naughty little smile on her face, 'I need Yuki-kun to explain chemistry to me and I need Kyou-kun to explain literature. You can't desert me!' 

Kyou raises an eyebrow and Yuki shakes his head, smiling. Tohru's sense of humor comes out on rainy days when no one is expecting it. 

'Fine,' Kyou shrugs, 'I'm free every afternoon after school.' 

'Me too,' nods Tohru. 

'I am too, but Student Council usually needs me for something.' 

Kyou snorts. 'Yeah. If it isn't some lovesick fan girl trying to hump you.' 

'Oh no. I usually deal with those in a matter of minutes. No humping involved.' Yuki says with an evil grin and makes a swift punching motion; Kyou snickers. Tohru hides a nervous smile. When they forget to argue, they have some pretty good moments together. Even when it involves being unanimously cruel to a third party, she is happy they don't fight as much as they used to. 

She notices a flat silence has drifted over them, bearing Yuki and Kyou's simultaneous realization that they just shared a joke together, and what a horrible realization it is becoming- 

'So!' Tohru exclaims a second time, before either one of them can get up and saunter off in disgust. 

'Either Kyou-kun and I go home after school and wait for Yuki-kun to get home, or Kyou-kun and I wait at school and the three of us walk home together.' 

'Or, Kyou-kun goes home and eats something and waits for the two of you to get there.' Kyou offers, giving Yuki a look. 

Yuki meets his eyes in a moment's surprise._ Oh right_, his look says. Kyou raises his eyebrows at him and turns back to Tohru. 

'So there's another wonderful possibility.' Yuki says neutrally. 

'I guess we'll see,' Tohru decides, 'when we get there.' 

'I like the last one, where I get to go home and eat something,' Kyou adds, as an afterthought. 

* 

Yuki blinks and refrains from cussing as the plate slips from his hands and shatters on the tile floor of the kitchen. He stares at the shards of dish as he wonders if Tohru will let him clean it up, or if she will smile and kick him out of her kitchen. 

He looks up at her. Probably the second. 

He raises his eyebrows weakly at her, and she smiles back, shaking her head. He sees her eyes dance, and hears her let out a small laugh. Her brown hair swishes along and around her face. 

'You know, Yuki-kun, it's good to know I'm not the only one who can be a klutz around here.' and she grins.   
The song on the radio is a popular one, he thinks, and he should have recognized it but he can't. She had, she had been humming along with it. 

'I'll clean it up, Honda-san.' 

'That's okay. I think it'll go faster if I do it.' And she smiles at him again. 'Go on, go sit down. I'll finish up in here and then bring out tea, okay?' 

'But-' 

'Bye bye, Yuki-kun,' she winks at him and slides shut the door, and he realizes he is on the other side. 

Isn't she human? How can this girl last through housework and cooking, and cleaning up after three lazy, useless guys who just happened to have an extra room in their house? 

Yuki knows that if these tasks had been his, he would go insane and set the house on fire within twenty-three minutes.   
Silently he slides open the kitchen door again. She doesn't hear him; the song on the radio has burst into its high, and he watches Tohru stretch, raising her arms and spreading the fingers of each hand. She twirls around once, eyes closed and smiling, her steps a little off balance, and she lets out a small humming sound. 

Suddenly he understands this girl more than anything in the universe. He recognizes every motion her body makes; he knows those hips that swayed only slightly, and only for a moment and only to one side. He imagines how it must feel to be her, to breathe through her nose and to have that long brown hair on her head, to have that finely shaped mouth and to have the mind behind those eyes that can't keep secrets. And then, he imagines touching her and feeling her skin against his own skin.   
And he imagines turning into a mouse.

She turns to clean up the broken dish. He quickly slides the door all the way open, as if he were walking back into the kitchen. She looks up from where she kneels down on the floor, slender hands retrieving a chunk of porcelain here and there. Her knees touch the ground, her thighs pressed against each other. She looks up at him. 

He is supposed to be a man? He is older than she is. He is taller, stronger. He shouldn't have to let her pick up a plate that he broke in the first place. All he does is stare at her legs as she cleans up his messes. 

'Well, the part about going to the living room and staying there didn't last very long, did it?' she says teasingly, and her eyes meet his from beneath her long eyelashes, which seem to be there just so he might notice them and wish they were brushing against his throat. 

He realizes his mind is a total blank and that she said something approximately five seconds ago and is probably still expecting a reply on his part. 

'I,' he says, rather conclusively, and then figures that probably isn't the best sort of word to comprise an entire sentence of. 

'I wanted..' he tries again. Fill in subject. Here. On the dotted line. Come on. Not that hard. Think of random kitchen object- 'the cutting board?' 

'You want the cutting board?' Tohru repeats him curiously. 'What are you going to do with that?' 

Answers like, knock myself over the head for being such an idiot, fill his mind, but he decided those wouldn't do too well with Tohru. An idea pops into the same mind. 

'To knock Kyou over the head with,' he ends up blurting, albeit rather miserably. 

He said it without thinking it through, and of course now he realizes that if there is one thing that upset Tohru, it's that- 

'You and Kyou-kun are always fighting!' she sounds somewhere between desperate and hopeless. She looks up at him, and he can see her wondering how she might be able to convince him and Kyou to stop fighting, without hurting anyone's feelings. 

'I.. no. No. I was joking.' 

But if anything would confuse her, that would! Yuki nearly ever jokes. And not to her about Kyou, anyways. Damn. He seems to be getting himself in deeper with each second he's standing here. 

'Can I please just clean that up for you?' he asks her, hearing a frantic tinge to his own voice. 

She frowns lightly, perhaps still confused about what he said before, and then laughs a little, as if the idea that she would let him help is ludicrous.  
'No, Yuki-kun! I told you it was fine. You're very sweet to offer again, but just go and relax.' 

She probably remembered the cutting board again, because she blinks a glance in the direction of the object on the kitchen counter, and adds, 'but please don't fight with Kyou?' followed with pleading eyes, another smile and a shake of the head. 

He wants to kiss her each time she smiles like that, but a little voice called Sense of Reality is whispering into his brain that all he ever does when she smiles like that is stare stupidly and perhaps let a little drool run down his chin.  
'I guess,' he answers (drools at) her flatly, and walks out of the kitchen.

He flops down on the couch and closes his eyes as Shigure and Kyou veg out in front of the tv. How can they have no problem whatsoever with Tohru doing all the work? Besides the fact that it was Shigure's idea in the first place that they let her stay here in exchange for her keeping the house inhabitable. 

Yuki tries every day, but seems to cause more clutter than actually clean anything. He set a washing machine full of underwear too hot, and he and Tohru had stood trying to stretch Shigure's smiley-face boxers for half-an-hour before even Tohru was ready to admit it was a lost cause. Shigure had been heartbroken. 

One day, Yuki asked Tohru to teach him how to cook. She kept him with her in the kitchen, and explained to him how she did everything while she did it, and let him try it all out. After the evening was over and dinner was done, she told him that she was proud of him, because he had paid well attention and hadn't burnt or broken anything too severely. He couldn't tell her that he could not fathom how she just knew amounts of ingredients and cooking times, and how she could time it all and put it together and make it taste so good. He was sure if he were to try and cook without her peering over his shoulder and cheering him on, it would become a very large greyish-muckish lump that would plop away and sit grumpily in a corner for a few weeks before anyone gathered the nerve to poke it with a very long stick. 

Sitting on the couch, Yuki winces as he visualizes a greyish-muckish six-week-old dinner-lump thing swallowing the stick and poking him back with other, far scarier, things. 

'Krggggghhh,' he lets out of the corner of his mouth. 

'Sohma Yuki; the epitome of eloquence.' Shigure quips. 'So, how many plates did you break?' 

'Just the one.' 

'Stupid rodent,' Kyou grunts, his heart not really put into the insult, not looking away from the soap opera on tv. Yuki might have liked to knock him over the head with a cutting board, but that really is a reason within itself not to do it. Not to mention Kyou is his new partner-in-crime, his support and assistance, his.. er.. well. 

'Hum,' Shigure hums merrily. 'Humhumhum. I wonder how many Kyou-kun would break if he ever helped Tohru-kun in the kitchen.' 

Kyou mutters something vile about dogs under his breath, and Yuki asks Shigure if he might like a cutting board. 

'Eh?' says Shigure, but Tohru happens to walk in at that moment, holding four empty mugs. 

'Yuki-kun.. no cutting boards, remember?' she pulls her lips into a pout but then sparkles at him, and he smiles at her, caught off guard entirely. 

'Sorry,' he apologizes bemusedly and holds his breath when she meets his eyes again.   
She puts down the mugs, nods and makes a twirl out of nowhere, and walks back to the kitchen.

When Tohru carries the pot of tea out, his eyes are right there again, searching for hers. She meets them, looks away again and bites her bottom lip. He wonders what it means. She settles herself down and bends over the low coffee table, pouring the mugs for the men. Yuki's eyes drift from her hands up her arms to her shoulders, to her collarbone. He steers his eyes resolutely up, away from her bust- and finds her casting a peculiar glance at him. He can feel he's blushing. She smiles at him and hands him his mug of tea. 

He wonders if he might be attractive, and he wonders if he might be interesting, and he wonders if, if there might be any girl on the planet to take his curse in stride, can it please be this one? 

* 

AN. Hey now, sweet things. Here's chapter two. Sorry for the delay but my modem stopped working (hm, maybe I didn't pay a bill? Or four?) but I'm moving back to my parents' house for a two months anyways, so the damn modem isn't my problem anymore. Anyways. A big big thanks to those who reviewed me; you know you're the ones I do this for. An apology that I don't pop over and read everyone else's fics; my life is really insane and busy right now. I did go and read (the first part of) Shin's voice's fic and really liked it so far. Hey hey, I even saw your Cheshire cat thing in the first chapter! You'd think I had already read it and was referencing you in my own story. Anyways. 

Fun Fact: my spelling control's suggestions for Shigure: seizure, shaggier, and Hague. LOL. I live in the Hague. Kakkoii. Mata ne~  
Roku 


	3. Lambada

See incompetence-pleading disclaimer in bio.

Circle Dance  
by roku

Chapter Three: Lambada

'Alright.' Says the cat, dignified, getting up from where he has been sleeping to make room for Yuki. 'Let's get this dealt with.'

Yuki nods and sits down beside his cousin. Looking out from the roof of Shigure's house, you can see over tons and tons of trees from one side, and a bit of Tokyo from the other. Yuki prefers looking at the trees. Kyou seemingly does as well, because he always has his back turned to the smoggy city.

'When are your entry exams again?' Kyou asks nonchalantly.

'In three weeks.'

Kyou raises an eyebrow. 'That's right at the same time as our finals.'

Yuki lets out a short laugh. 'I know.'

'Have you already started looking for a room in Tokyo?'

'Not yet. But I don't think I want to be on campus.'

'See if you can find something in between the Art University and Toudai.'

Their eyes meet.

'Good idea.' Yuki murmurs.

Kyou shrugs. 'Considering how, if this works out, you'll be living with a certain art-fart.'

'If.' Smiles Yuki.

'Interesting how when we both have a goal we're working towards that doesn't involve working against the other, we can actually converse,' Kyou remarks, leaving Yuki speechless for a moment.

'For a dumb hysteric cat, you're actually pretty eloquent,' he comments.

Kyou snorts. 'Shove it, Ratman.'

'Yeah yeah.'

'Anyways. I think I'll get my studying done quickest if I sit up here on the roof.' Kyou turns to smirk at Yuki. 'And I doubt you and Tohru would want to join me.' He waves airily at nothing. 'If Tohru was serious about needing my help on literature class, I'll come down to help her with it..' he grins at Yuki, 'considering I scored several points higher than a certain rodent on the last test.'

Yuki decides not to bite, and simply nods. 'Yes, you were always good at literature. Though I've never seen you read a book in my life.'

Kyou rolls his eyes. 'Of course, this is very baffling, as we spend all our time together, twenty-four-seven, so you would immediately notice if I did something as out-of-character as say, read a book.'

'Point taken. But nonetheless, much appreciated.' Continues Yuki. 'I'd have to agree that Honda san wouldn't be able to concentrate if she were studying on the roof.'

'Heheh. Just imagine her sitting here, trying to study-'

'and whenever she'd move or put down a notebook-'

'It'd slide down the roof-'

'And hit Shigure in the head-'

'And Tohru'd go frantic, apologizing like Ritsu-'

'And lose her own balance, start to slip-'

'"Ah! Falling desu! Not good desu!"' Kyou mimes sqeakily.

'And I could catch her theatrically in my arms before she hit the ground.'

'At which point you'd transform, and her weight would splatter your mousey innards nicely over the lawn.' Kyou finishes. 'We should write screenplays together,' he adds pensively.

'I prefer happy endings, though.' Yuki says, watching his cousin from the corner of his eye.  
He grew up with a certain image of the cat in his mind, and all these years, especially after he moved out of the main house and into Shigure's and Kyou moved there too, his image of the cat was right. He had fervently disliked the cat, if not hated him. But with the arrival of Tohru into their lives, each of the Soumas seem to have learned some manners and respect. Yuki is now able to admit that he does not hate Kyou anymore. They still aren't friends, and perhaps they never will be, but their bickering is more benevolent now than at any time before. There is something binding them, keeping them allies of sorts, and Yuki is relieved to have it that way. He has grown to respect the cat very much since that night two years ago. Kyou is intelligent and sensitive and strong, and has similar issues with the Souma family. True, Kyou's position is a bad one, as Yuki's is supposedly a good one, but with Akito as clan head there is little difference.

'Well,' says Yuki, 'if your International Law and my Environmental and Suburban Architecture at Toudai fall through, and if Tohru wants nothing to do with me, and if you don't end up shackled by Kagura, maybe screenplays are exactly what we'll do.'

'Shackled by Kagura!' Kyou grunts. 'I'll show her who's da Man.'

Yuki snorts at him, amused. 'She'd kick your ass. You know that.'

Kyou frowns. 'Maybe if I got her flowers.'

'She'll smell the flowers first and then kick your ass.'

'God, I hate women.'

'Careful who hears you say that. If Ayame overheard, he'd force you to marry _him_ instead. He's always wanted to wear a bridal gown, you know that.'

'.. where's that girl Kagura?' Kyou demands and sits up quickly, pretending to jump off the roof.

Yuki snickers. Maybe things won't go awry, after all.

*

A hand raps lightly on the edge of a rice paper screen.

'Enter,'

The screen slides open.

'My dear boys,' Akito welcomes the infamous Mabudachi Trio.

'Hello, Akito,' Shigure greets back. Hatori says nothing but walks into the center of the room, where there is a porcelain ash tray on the table. There is fine calligraphy written inside it, almost abstracted. It says 'peaceful springtime'. Hatori bends over, tie hanging down, and jabs his cigarette against the porcelain, aiming especially at the character for 'spring'.

Ayame has followed closely behind Hatori. He nods at Akito. Ayame never could hide his instinctive fear of him.

'He makes my blood feel cold,' he had confessed once to Shigure and Hatori, 'colder than a snake's already is.'

'Sit down,' Akito says.

Shigure sits down, a goofy grin on his face. Ayame hovers near the door. Hatori exhales his last smoke with the words, 'I'll stand.'

'You'll sit,' Akito replies coldly, 'because I want to sit and I don't want to have to look up at you.'

They all settle around the low table, folding their feet beneath them. The rustle of the tatami mats beneath them stops and the room becomes so static that they all feel afraid to breath. Except for Akito, who is never afraid of anything.

Akito regards them each in turn, running his eyes up and down their figures. The Ayame who is usually so lively has become a pale statue staring at the ash tray. 'Ayame, your little brother resembles you very much. He is growing up every bit as beautiful as his older brother.'

Ayame's gold-slitted eyes flit up to Akito's face and away again. A smile trembles on his sculpted white lips. 'If only he'd let his hair grow, I think he'd become more beautiful than me in an instant.'

Akito laughs dryly. 'You're so modest about being perfect.' He looks over to Hatori, who is staring out of the window. Hatori is the one who sees Akito every day; he is the one who can read him best. Hatori is seperating himself from the conversation already, perhaps in protest to what he knows it will be about.

Akito looks over to Shigure. Shigure's eyes are half-closed. He has a relaxed smile on his face, and when Akito makes eye-contact with him, Shigure raises his eyebrows and lights a cigarette. The smoke he blows out hangs over the table between them and only wafts away very slowly.

'So, Akito.' Shigure says, cutting through the silence with a voice that makes you feel there never was any. 'Why did you call for us?'

Akito smiles. 'Don't pretend. Hatori told you.'

Shigure takes a long drag. 'Hatori san wouldn't say.'

Akito cocks his head at Hatori. 'Is that so?'

Hatori meets Akito's eyes. 'I don't see why your secrets would be my business.'

'Secrets!' Akito exclaims with false delight. He claps his hands together, and the sounds cracks through the room, causing Ayame to start.

'I love secrets. Now I'm interested. I was never aware of any secrets taking place in this family.'

'Me neither,' says Shigure. 'but I think you know what Hatori is talking about. And what I expect you are talking about. So, please.' And he makes a slight gesture with the hand holding the cigarette.

Shigure, you're the bravest of all of us, sometimes. Hatori thinks. You're the one that's managed the most, because you show the least. Your words and smiles surrender less to Akito than my silence or Ayame's avoidance. But aren't you afraid you could fall the hardest?

'I don't believe for one second that Hatori didn't fill the both of you in on every detail he possibly could, so I'll take off from where ever I see fit.

'This is regarding the scrolls.-'

'What scrolls?' Shigure interrupts, voice whiney.

'The scrolls I know Hatori told you about. Don't interrupt me again.'

'He tells us nothing,' Shigure goes on mournfully, having no qualms about interrupting Akito. 'he doesn't trust us worth a yen coin.'

'Do no lie, Shigure. You already reek of dog when you enter a room.'

'Under the belt, Akito.' Shigure responds in a low, half-teasing voice. 'Now, the scrolls.'

'It disgusts me that it is you I am turning to in this matter.'

'Thank you for your faith,' Shigure chirps.

'The scrolls are family heirlooms dating from the Edo and Meiji periods, some from even before that.' Hatori starts, tiring with the delay at getting to the point. 'They are kept at the library here at the Honke, in the restricted area. The scrolls are extremely sensitive to light, touch, and vibrations and are therefore all locked away in a vault full-time. However..'

'However, Hatori collected a few from their tomb at my request, and has begun to work on an analysis of them.' Akito says.

Shigure laughs briefly as he taps ash off into the ashtray. 'So?'

'Shigure, these scrolls are being kept locked away not because of their extreme fragility and antiquary value but because of their content. They discuss the Curse of the Twelve Jyunishi.'

Ayame looks up for the first time and Shigure's eyes widen noticeably.

'Is that so?' he tries to deadpan, startled.

Akito smirks. 'It is. These texts handle extensively on the myth, on the reality of the curse and the development of the cursed Soma family through the eras.'

'But is it all stuff we already know? The scrolls must have been extensively studied time and again..'

'No. When Hatori's grandfather was still Head, the World War going on destroyed part of the Honke. When they cleared away the rubble they discovered a waterproof old box that must have once been buried beneath the floors of the largest Shinto shrine.' Akito leans back. 'Never say the gods don't know irony.'

'So when people discovered it and opened it and read about the curse then-' 'No. People held them at face value of being ancient scrolls. All the information on the Jyunishi was simply considered as an elaborately worked-out version of the myth.'

'This is where we come in, I believe.' Hatori says slowly. He looks over at Shigure, who has finished his cigarette and is reaching for his next, and at Ayame, who is tracing lines in the wood of the table.

'I have been studying these scrolls for several weeks, and the problem with almost all of them is that they are almost illegible.'

'How?' 'Written in old Japanese. Lots of stylized characters, lots of sweeping lines. Some vague illustrations in the sidelines.'

'Sounds like my bowl of sake,' says Shigure, squinting in anticipation.

'Don't feel too flattered, you foolish twit.' Akito says snidely. 'I am not calling upon you for any self-supposed literary or artistic skills. Merely that the process of reading and transcribing is long and tedious and I have no desire to perform it myself. The next obvious reasons are that you three are part of the Jyunishi, and you are older and more learned, if not more wise than the others. Yuki and Hiro are far too young to understand the scrolls, all the others too self-absorbed and stupid. If you three do not do this it will not happen the way it should.'

'If I understand correctly then Hatori, Shigure and myself will read and transcribe your scrolls to see what is written about us.'

'Very good, Ayame. You cower like a snake coiled, playing dead in long grass, but you listen in on us none the less. I would expect no less from you.'

Ayame's mouth tightens and his gaze drops back to the table. Shigure is silent for another moment before he leans forwards and says, 'alright, I'll do it. I'm interested to read what these texts of yours say. Can I pick them up and work on them at home?'

'First of all, of course you'll do it. I never put it to you as an offer or a choice. I decided for you a long time ago. Secondly no, you may not take any scrolls with you out of the library. They are to remain in a special room at all times. I had a room built with regulated temperature and humidity in the air, so the scrolls would not rot away unnecessarily.'

'I understand. How many scrolls are there?'

'Fifteen or sixteen.'

'What lengths?' 'No idea. Sooner longer than shorter, I think.'

Shigure nods. 'What exactly are we looking for?'

Akito's eyes are shooting back and forth, watching the smoke from Shigure's cigarette drift up. He doesn't respond or acknowledge the question, and Shigure opens his mouth to ask it again.

'My life,' Akito says suddenly, eyes still focused on the cigarette smoke. Ayame's head snaps up. Shigure observes the clan head motionlessly, his mouth slightly open. Hatori keeps his eyes on the window.

'I think that those scrolls can save my life.'

*

AN: Nyah, here we go again! I owe a belated apology to anyone reading this.. I tend to make fanfiction extraordinarily OOC. As you reviewers may have already noticed, I make some weird and apparently unexpected choices as to what 'my' characters do and why.  
Fruits Basket is a new fandom to me.. though I wrote fanfics for it more than a year ago, I never posted anything on fanfiction.net. I have, however, been writing and posting for other fandoms for a few years, so I guess you could say I'm set in my ways, for better or worse. Basically, this fic is my big 'what if'.. I think the main what if is, 'what if Kyou and Yuki actually got along?' neheheh.  
To respond to R Junkie's review of chapter two (the only one! *sob*) and to generally explain my psychotic behavior on this: I know it seems weird, that Yuki might be shy or feel awkward towards his beloved Honda san. But in my experience *insert next sob* if you've been friends for a long time it becomes increasingly difficult to develop, or confess, to romantic feelings for one another. So I think that if Yuki and Tohru get together it wouldn't be until they're a bit older (as in this fic), and there would be these years of friendship hanging between them like a dark cloud. Also, maybe it's silly to think he would need Kyou's help, but in a way Yuki needs an opinion from the outside and maybe an extra kick up the ass, and as soon as Kyou steps down as a rival, to me he seems the perfect answer!  
Anyways, this probably served mainly as further confusion to you, my beloved readers, but I say all's fair in love and fanfiction. :D  
oh yeah, and i inserted some *clash bang* plllllot. Forgive me. *runs off, singing 'YuuukiiiiRuuuuuu~'*


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